The background description includes information that may be useful in understanding the present invention. It is not an admission that any of the information provided herein is prior art or relevant to the presently claimed invention, or that any publication specifically or implicitly referenced is prior art.
Vehicles with combustion engines produce a significant percentage of the greenhouse gases that are emitted into the earth's atmosphere each year. Governments throughout the world are increasing concerned with our society's ecological footprint and are striving to raise the bar in environmental regulations and laws. Much research has been done to improve the efficiency of the modern combustion engine, in an effort to meet the rising environmental regulations.
Various design modifications for combustion engine intake valves have been implemented over the years in an attempt to improve combustion efficiency. An article titled “the Inside Angle on Valve Seats: What you need to know to go with the flow” published in Engine Builder Magazine, August 2008 edition (see http://www.enginebuildermag.com/2008/08/the-inside-angle-on-valve-seats-what-you-need-to-know-to-go-with-the-flow/) describes the early work of Joe Mondello on including multi-angle surfaces on valve seats to improve air flow into the combustion chamber. The principles of multi-angle valve seats developed by Joe Mondello provide a foundation for modern intake valve designs. While the addition of various surface angles has provided some improves, there remains a significant challenge in achieving additional advances in combustion efficiencies through with new intake valve designs. This is due, in part, to an infinite number of possible combinations of modifications (e.g., ratios of angles, ratios of surface areas between the intake valve and the valve seat, etc) and the numerous dynamic factors that are present in a combustion engine (e.g., temperature, engine speed, number of pistons, size of engine, etc.). Unfortunately, this has led to a stagnant state in intake valve design. There remains a significant need for improved intake valve designs.
Thus, there is still a need for improved intake valve designs for combustion engines.